All businesses and non-profit organizations face problems both large and small. Some difficulties are readily addressed and solutions can be discovered in a very short time. Other more complicated problems require more sophisticated solutions. Very often, a creative and highly innovative idea is the best answer the to a business question. All too often, however, otherwise astute business people fall for what seems to be a gift wrapped solution.
A gift wrapped solution can appear in several ways. As with any present, what is inside of the colourful paper may not be all that was hoped for by the recipient. The unsuspecting decision maker may be lulled into the age old dilemma where if your only tool is a hammer, then every problem has to resemble a nail. Modern business is far more complicated than driving in nails, and most difficult decisions need more than the offer of a simple panacea.
One well known situation facing many business owners and managers is the ready made solution seeking a problem. In this case, the best known practitioners are management consultants. The most commonly practiced version of this idea is to sell the same solution over and over again. To achieve this delightfully profitable situation, the problem is simply reframed as a nail and the hammer is provided; for a hefty fee of course. We blog evangelists are often guilty of presenting the business blog as the solution to every conceivable business problem. Yes, a blog can be a proverbial hammer, and it's seeking that elusive nail.
Another popular ready made solution is to reapply something that worked well in the past. Often the previous success was due to a different economy, dissimilar market competition, and even an entirely unrelated issue. There is no guarantee that the previous success can be repeated in the altered circumstances. Often the past event is cloaked in company mythology, selective memories, and individual reputations real and imagined. As with any myth, it probably has a grain of truth. Also as with many myths, there is a heap of fiction grafted onto that tiny bit of reality.
Occasionally, the ready made solution may be seen as an easier solution. For example, a business owner or high ranking manager might suggest a cheap but blatantly obvious idea. Due to reputation, or the mere hint that this is the big boss talking, most employees keep their heads down and their opinions to themselves. Long term employment is usually chosen over a heroic but career fatal action. Instead of creative solutions being actively sought, one of the usual panaceas is put into action. The results are often disappointing to say the least.
If your organization is facing serious problems, treat them as opportunities to develop some creative solutions. Bring every possible employee into the decision making process. From the very beginning, fill everyone in on the problem and what is at stake. Provide the tools and support to generate new and interesting ideas. Discard nothing during the early idea creation period. Instead, encourage thoughts that could even border on the outlandish. From the most far out suggestions, are the seeds for some of the most brilliant and innovative solutions.
Avoid falling prey to the latest business gimmick or fad. If management by wearing snowshoes is all the rage, it might be best to consider management by wearing sandals. Setting the company apart from the pack is a powerful technique for establishing the organization as unique in the industry. Fads and gimmicks come and go with the seasons, but developing an innovative and creative organization will outlast even the worst economic times. The involvement and trust of the staff is one of the most powerful forces of nature in business.
Instead of wandering around with a solution searching out a problem, become a seeker of problems every day. Develop innovative and creative solutions with the ideas and input of the entire organization. Listen to everyone connected in any way with your company from staff, to customers, to suppliers, to the banks. They may have solutions that don't come in a can.
Be careful of gift wrapped solutions. Very often, when the pretty paper and ribbon is unwrapped, all that is found is a lump of coal.
